| Dharma & Greg | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | |
| Starring |
|
| Opening theme | "Dharma & Greg" byDennis C. Brown |
| Ending theme | "Dharma & Greg" (some episodes) |
| Composer | Dennis C. Brown |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 119(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | approx. 22 minutes |
| Production companies |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | September 24, 1997 (1997-09-24) – April 30, 2002 (2002-04-30) |
Dharma & Greg is an American televisionsitcom that originally aired onABC for five seasons from September 24, 1997, to April 30, 2002, with a total of 119 episodes.[1]
The show starredJenna Elfman andThomas Gibson as Dharma and Greg Montgomery, a couple who married on their first date despite being polar opposites. The series was co-produced byChuck Lorre Productions, More-Medavoy Productions and4 to 6 Foot Productions (seasons 1-2 only) in association with20th Century Fox Television. The show'stheme song was written and performed by composerDennis C. Brown.
Created by executive producersDottie Dartland andChuck Lorre, the comedy took much of its inspiration from culture-clash "fish out of water" situations.[2] The show earned eightGolden Globe nominations, sixEmmy Award nominations, and sixSatellite Award nominations.[3] Elfman earned a Golden Globe in 1999 forBest Actress.
Free-spiritedyoga instructor/dog trainer Dharma Finkelstein and straight-lacedlawyer Greg Montgomery marry on their first date despite being complete opposites. Their conflicting views lead to comical situations. Greg is anIvy League graduate who was raised by wealthy, conservative parents. After graduation fromHarvard andStanford, he went to work with the U.S. Attorney's Office as a federal prosecutor inSan Francisco. He then meets Dharma, who was raised by hippie parents. They fall in love immediately and elope. Despite being totally different, their parents eventually learn to tolerate each other.
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||
| 1 | 23 | September 24, 1997 (1997-09-24) | May 20, 1998 (1998-05-20) | |
| 2 | 24 | September 23, 1998 (1998-09-23) | May 26, 1999 (1999-05-26) | |
| 3 | 24 | September 21, 1999 (1999-09-21) | May 16, 2000 (2000-05-16) | |
| 4 | 24 | October 10, 2000 (2000-10-10) | May 22, 2001 (2001-05-22) | |
| 5 | 24 | September 25, 2001 (2001-09-25) | April 30, 2002 (2002-04-30) | |
In 1998, the Online Film & Television Association Awards[4][5][6] nominated Elfman for Best Actress in a Comedy Series and the series itself as Best New Comedy Series.
Jenna Elfman was nominated three times for Best Television Actress – Musical/Comedy Series at the Golden Globes and won in 1999. Thomas Gibson and Susan Sullivan were both nominated for Golden Globes but neither ever won the award. The show itself was nominated for Best Best Musical/Comedy Series in 1998 and 1999.[7]
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The series was a top-25 fixture in the US during its first three seasons, first airing Wednesday at 8:30 p.m., then at 8:00. It was moved to Tuesdays at 9 p.m. during its third season where it experienced a dramatic ratings lift thanks to a lead-in of the then red-hotWho Wants to Be a Millionaire. As ratings for that series waned in 2000/2001,Dharma & Greg suffered a similar fate, compounded by NBC movingFrasier into the same time slot. AsMillionaire fell even further and was moved off the night in the fall of 2001, ABC tried to rebuild a Tuesday night comedy block consisting ofDharma & Greg,What About Joan?,Bob Patterson, andSpin City.Bob Patterson andWhat About Joan? were quickly cancelled in May 2002 whileDharma & Greg andSpin City shared the 8 p.m. hour for the rest of the season.
The final episode aired on April 30, 2002, to 6.8 million viewers, compared to the 20 million the series had peaked two years previously. Along withAlly McBeal andDawson's Creek,Dharma & Greg was one of the last three surviving shows to debut during the1997–98 season (Dawson's Creek would remain for one more season in 2002–03).
| Season | Season Premiere | Season Finale | TV Season | Ranking | Viewers (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | September 24, 1997 | May 20, 1998 | 1997–1998 | #25[8] | 13.9[8] |
| 2nd | September 23, 1998 | May 26, 1999 | 1998–1999 | #25[9] | 13.5[9] |
| 3rd | September 21, 1999 | May 16, 2000 | 1999–2000 | #19[10] | 10.4[10] |
| 4th | October 10, 2000 | May 22, 2001 | 2000–2001 | #38[11] | 12.3[11] |
| 5th | September 25, 2001 | April 30, 2002 | 2001–2002 | #82[12] | 8.1[12] |
Season 2 was released in Australia as a Region 4 PAL on January 22, 2008, with a picture of Dharma and Greg dancing on the cover.[13] It is available in Japan as a Region 2 NTSC format with a picture of them sitting down for the cover art.[14] In the spring of 2008, the second season was released in Europe (Netherlands) as a Region 2 PAL as well. All countries have different covers, and all are using the "dance shot".
On November 11, 2014, 20th Century Fox released season 2 in Region 1 via Amazon.com's CreateSpace program. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Amazon.com.[15]
| Season | Release date | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 2 (UK) | Region 2 (Germany) | Region 4 | |
| Season 1 | June 13, 2006[16] | May 7, 2007[17] | October 1, 2007[18] | January 10, 2007[19] |
| Season 2 | November 11, 2014[20] | TBA | February 11, 2008[21] | January 23, 2008[22] |
Thevanity card forChuck Lorre Productions at the end of each episode included a message written by producer and show co-creator Chuck Lorre, expressing his personal views on a variety of subjects. Because the card only appeared on the screen for a brief moment, it was usually readable only by those who recorded the program and paused it (although the complete collection of cards has now been posted on Lorre's website).[23]
Messages were also included on the vanity cards for later Chuck Lorre Productions shows, such asTwo and a Half Men,The Big Bang Theory, andMike & Molly.[24][25][26]
Elfman and Gibson had a cameo appearance in theninth season premiere ofTwo and a Half Men, "Nice to Meet You, Walden Schmidt". Their characters are not named either in the dialogue or the credits (possibly for legal reasons due toMen's being produced by a different studio),[27] but they appear to be based on Dharma and Greg. While the couple remain married, Greg seems overly tired of his responsibilities and marriage, even going so far as to sarcastically hint at divorce to Evelyn Harper (along with a self-inflicted gunshot gesture) when leaving. Joel Murray also makes a cameo appearance in the episode, although not as Pete but as a character named "Doug".[28] Elfman had also previously appeared on that show in its first season as the free-spirited Frankie in the two-part episodes "Round One to the Hot Crazy Chick" and "That Was Saliva, Alan."
